Eugene Ballet Academy
Midtown Arts Center
1590 Willamette Street, Eugene, OR 97401
ph. 541-686-9342 info@eugeneballetacademy.org
Midtown Arts Center
1590 Willamette Street, Eugene, OR 97401
ph. 541-686-9342 info@eugeneballetacademy.org
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Eugene Ballet Academy
Midtown Arts Center 1590 Willamette Street, Eugene, OR 97401 ph. 541-686-9342 info@eugeneballetacademy.org |
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Home > About Us
The Eugene Ballet Academy provides training for ages three through adult, beginning through professional and is the official Academy of the Eugene Ballet Company. Through a sound curriculum & nurturing environment, the Eugene Ballet Academy enriches the lives of children and encourages the development of self-esteem, discipline, physical fitness, musicality, grace and a love and appreciation for the art of dance. The young child is carried through a thorough study of classical ballet from Creative Movement & Pre-Ballet to Ballet & Pre-professional levels. The training incorporates a methodical syllabus with English and Russian influence. Varieties of dance forms are offered to enhance versatility and develop the total dancer. The curriculum includes Ballet technique, Pointe, Variations, Jazz, Modern and Pilates classes. The Eugene Ballet Academy also offers recreational dance in the form of Creative Movement, Tap and Musical Theater.
The Academy offers numerous performing opportunities for the students during the year. Throughout its season, the Eugene Ballet Company utilizes students from the academy in many of its productions. The annual Nutcracker involves as many as 170 students.
The entire student body participates in an end of the year annual production at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts. This final production brings together the youngest and the most advanced student, which allows an inspiring presentation of the dedication, commitment and accomplishment of the students, staff and parents.
The Eugene Youth Ballet, (EYB) a separate organization, is a performing company for aspiring Intermediate and Advanced dancers. Dancers are selected by audition. The company performs a versatile repertoire in a wide variety of venues, from Youth Arts productions & community events to regional tours & the International Bach Festival.
The Eugene Ballet Academy, nearly 50 years in existence, was founded in 1959 by Doreen Gilday, a native of Canada, and her husband Fred Ditzhazy. Doreen and Fred were highly successful at developing young dancers, teaching them the technicalities and graces of ballet. They formed a student performing group, Ballet Classique and in 1965 the group became Oregon Ballet Classique, Inc, a non-profit regional ballet company.
Riley Grannan, an original member of the Oregon Ballet Classique, left Eugene to dance professionally in Europe and in New York, only to return several years later with his wife Toni Pimble. In 1978, Doreen and Fred Ditzhazy relinquished their ownership to the new and younger husband-wife team renamed to The Eugene School of Ballet.
Born in England, Toni attended the prestigious Elmhurst School of Ballet, studied the syllabus of the Royal of Academy of Dancing and later became an Associate of the Royal Academy of Dance (A.R.A.D.) From the beginning it was obvious that Toni and Riley were a gifted team with an abundance of energy and vision for a professional Ballet Company. Over the next 10 years, Toni and Riley devoted themselves to the school and their Professional Company, the Eugene Ballet.
Sara Lombardi, a native Oregonian, moved to Eugene in 1978 on a gymnastics scholarship and to pursue a degree in Dance & Movement Education at the University of Oregon. In 1984, after finishing her Master's in Sports Medicine through the College of Human Development and Performance, she had the good fortune to continue her dance studies under the direction of Toni Pimble and Riley Grannan. In 1985, she became a member of the Eugene Ballet and by 1989; she was hired as the Administrative Director of the School. In 1994 Ms. Lombardi stepped in to become the Eugene School of Ballet’s new owner and director. This transfer of ownership allowed Toni and Riley to devote their full efforts to the Company, which still flourishes today. The school has enjoyed much success over the years as a result of careful nurturing, quality teaching, expanded vision and commitment on the part of its caretakers. Remarkably, the torch has been passed from teacher to student for three generations, enabling the preservation of original intent and vision.
When The Eugene Ballet Company recently took on the massive role of acquiring a building for the company and other arts groups “Midtown Arts Center”, it was a natural decision to include The Eugene School of Ballet into the mix. A new series of studios were built and the school, passed once again, back into the fold. The Eugene Ballet Company purchased the Eugene School of Ballet and it is now the official Academy of the Eugene Ballet Company. Sara Lombardi now presides over the Eugene Ballet Academy as Director. Looking forward, the academy continues to grow and offer more opportunity for our students.
Ms. Lombardi came to dance through gymnastics in which she competed nationally and won two state all-around gymnastic championships. After receiving a gymnastics scholarship to the University of Oregon, she earned a Master's degree in Sports Medicine and Dance Kinesiology and became nationally certified as an athletic trainer. Ms. Lombardi was a member of the Eugene Ballet Company for six seasons, and has danced with numerous companies including Ballet Oregon and Dance Theatre of Oregon. She was the Administrative Director and a teacher for ESB for six years prior to becoming the school's owner in 1994. Ms. Lombardi is also the Artistic Director of the Eugene Youth Ballet, the school's performing youth company, which was founded in 1994 and became a non-profit organization in 1999.
Mercedes Rathswohl received her B.A. in Religious Studies and Anthropology at the University of San Diego in 1994 where she worked in office administration. After studying and traveling extensively through Europe she moved to Eugene, Oregon, to pursue a higher degree in English Literature. She then became immersed in dance training with a focus on Modern and Ballet at the University of Oregon and Lane Community College, performing at the Dougherty Theater. She is currently interested in the study of Voice with the goal of performing professionally. Mercedes says she loves meeting and talking with parents and children in an artistic environment, and to offer them her helping hand.
Florabelle was born in Israel and through her teen years trained at the Bat-Dor dance school in Israel where she obtained 6 levels of dance certifications from the Royal Academy of Dance in London. She studied for her Bachelor in Dance and Dance Education at the Rubin Academy of Music and Dance in Jerusalem, which is affiliated with the Hebrew University. After receiving her Bachelors in 1991, she moved to Eugene and received her Masters in Dance from the U of O in 1993. Florabelle has been an instructor and curriculum coordinator for the ESB since 1993. She auditions young candidates for the Eugene Ballet company and is the ballet mistress for EBC Nutcracker in Corvallis and Salem. Florabelle is also teaches at L.C.C. and is an adjunct instructor at the U of O, teaching Ballet & Salsa. She has performed professionally in Israel, with the Dance Theater of Oregon in Eugene, and is currently a member of the Salsa Con Sabor dance group in Portland. Ms. Zadoff is a graduate of the New York High School for the Performing Arts. She toured with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, the Louis Johnson New York Company and the Newark State Ballet Company and appeared in several Broadway musicals. She has been associated with the Eugene Ballet Company for twelve years as a performer, choreographer and as Ballet Mistress. Ms. Zadoff's teaching career spans more than twenty-five years, over half of which have been dedicated to the University of Oregon Dance Department, where she was a tenured senior instructor.
Ms. Lehan-Siegel began her dance training in New Jersey at the Garden State Ballet School at the age of six and now holds a B.F.A. from the University of Utah and an M. F. A. from Sarah Lawrence College. She has performed professionally with both ballet and modern dance companies including: Ballet West of Salt Lake City; in New York with David Parsons, Senta Driver and Pat Catterson. In addition to teaching modern dance and ballet, Ms. Lehan-Siegel is well known locally as a performer, choreographer and co-artistic director (with husband Marc Siegel) of the Dance Theatre of Oregon. Marc Siegel holds a B.S. in dance from the U of O and an M. A. in dance from UCLA. He received a Ford Foundation Scholarship to the School of American Ballet in New York at age 13. He has danced with the Eugene Ballet Company and was a soloist on national and international tours with Le Ballet Trockadero de Monte Carlo. Currently he and his wife Pamela are co-artistic directors of the Dance Theatre of Oregon, the newest resident company in the Hult Center. As a musician he has been on the staff at UCLA, New York University, Yale University, Alvin Ailey School, and LCC. Ann Rogers began her training with Susan Zadoff while attending the University of Oregon. After receiving her Bachelor's degree in dance, Ms. Rogers joined the Eugene Ballet Company where she danced for over ten years in such leading roles as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, and created the role of Little Tricker in Ken Kesey's Little Tricker The Squirrel Meets Big Double The Bear. Most recently she has staged two of Toni Pimble's notable ballets: Alice in Wonderland and Petrushka. Currently Ms. Rogers works for Backstage Dancewear, and returns for her fourth season of teaching at Eugene Ballet Academy. Lyn Burg began studying classical ballet and modern dance at the age of seven with Faye Knox and Gwen Curran. She was also a competitive gymnast from age 10 to 18. She continued her dance training through Lane Community College with Mary Seereiter and University of Oregon with Susan Zadoff, Caroline Shell and Janet Descutner. Ms. Burg’s performing career has been extensive and varied. She has been involved in numerous theater productions, television commercials, videos and voice overs. She has also performed with The Dance Theatre of Oregon as well as in many musical theatre productions. She teaches jazz, musical theatre, and other dance styles, and has been a dance instructor at the Downtown Athletic Club since 1997.
Ms. Siegel’s experience in dance and music began at the age of three. While attending Lewis & Clark College, she won a series of singing contests that ultimately led her to New York City where she won a spot on the Arthur Godfrey radio show. Ms. Siegel has appeared on television and radio, worked with the Seattle and Eugene operas, and has been involved in many musicals. From 1984-1994 she opened her own dance studio “Dance Arts” in Pleasant Hill, OR. Ms. Seigel has lived in Eugene since 1956 and she continues to teach tap and instill a love for dance to the children and adults in our community. nancywood@eugeneballetacademy.org Nancy Wood has spent her life studying movement and the performing arts. She is a United States Figure Skating Association Gold Medalist, and toured professionally with Holiday on Ice International. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Minnesota, where she also studied theater, dance and voice. She has performed as a jazz singer, a classical soloist, and as an actor/singer/dancer in musical theater productions. She is a certified Aerobics/Fitness Instructor through Fitness International, based in Europe, and taught aerobics in Europe and the U.S. for many years before turning to yoga and pilates. Together with composer Paul Safar, Nancy is also co-founder and director of Cherry Blossom Musical Arts, a non-profit organization dedicated to the creation and performance of original works
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